UConn's McCombs ready for a rushing revival

Chris Elsberry

Updated 12:20 am, Wednesday, April 3, 2013

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2012, file photo, Connecticut running back Lyle McCombs watches players during NCAA college football practice in Storrs, Conn. Police say McCombs was arrested on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, and accused of yelling, pushing and spitting at his girlfriend during an argument outside a residential hall on campus in Storrs. McCombs was charged with second-degree breach of peace, they said. McCombs was playing in UConn's game Saturday at Rutgers. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
Photo: Jessica Hill, Associated Press

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2012, file photo, Connecticut running back...

Connecticut quarterback Scott McCummings (11) hands the ball to running back Lyle McCombs (43) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012. Rutgers won 19-3. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Photo: Mel Evans, Associated Press

Connecticut quarterback Scott McCummings (11) hands the ball to...

Connecticut's Lyle McCombs, right, eludes Buffalo's Najja Johnson during the first half of their NCAA college football game in East Hartford, Conn., on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)
Photo: Fred Beckham, Associated Press

Last season, the UConn running game was like a Jeep stuck in tire-deep mud. It needed a winch and a chain to pull it out and try to get it going, only to find another mud hole and get stuck again. There were injuries to the offensive line, which hampered chemistry. There was a new quarterback. And then there was McCombs' arrest by campus police just before the Rutgers game for an alleged domestic dispute involving his girlfriend.

In all, it led to one nightmare of a season in which McCombs rushed for just 860 yards (averaging 78.2 yards a game). The Huskies averaged just 87.9 rushing yards per game as a team -- the first time since 2001 (and that's pre-Division I) that UConn did not average at least 100 yards a game rushing.

But that was then. This is now.

"This is a new team and we want to do great things this year," McCombs said after a recent practice at the Shenkman Training Facility. "We've put it behind us and our goal is to be the hardest working team in the Big East so we come out with some good results this season."

For McCombs, who rushed for 1,151 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2011, last season was a major disappointment. He managed just 32 yards in a loss at Rutgers after sitting out the first quarter for violating team policy due to the arrest. He had just 16 in a blowout loss at Syracuse and just 47 in a loss at South Florida. Only three times in 12 games (Western Michigan, Pitt, Louisville) did McCombs crack the 100-yard mark.

"Absolutely, there were a lot of things that I could have done myself to help the running game. I had some bad games," he said. "For me, it took a while (to forget last season) because for me, it was the second year in a row (of losing). It was mentally draining for me, but eventually I got back on my grind and I'm ready to kick off this new season. I'm doing everything I can to get our running game back to where it should be."

And that's back in rarefied air. In 2006, the Huskies averaged 182.9 yards a game rushing. In 2007 and '08, those numbers were 161.4 and 216.4, respectively. In 2009, the average was 170.7, and in 2010, it was 174.7.

But in 2011, that average slipped to 118.5 yards a game and last year just 87.9 -- the lowest average since 77.5 in 2001.

"Obviously, we have to do a better job of running the ball," UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. "Identifying the fronts and making sure we know who we're blocking. Those are things we were starting over with the guys on the offensive line."

From that standpoint, there seems to be some level of comfort. From left tackle to right tackle -- Jimmy Bennett, Steve Greene, Tyler Bullock, Gus Cruz and Kevin Friend -- all return for 2013. And with that experience, McCombs is expecting big things from the run game.

"We're excited to be feared offensively this year," he said. "We're ready to go. We're just tired of being mediocre. We are what our record said we were last season ... we're just tired of it and we're doing whatever we can to get over the hump and get this (league) championship and get to a bowl game.

"We don't want to be known as the team that only plays defensive football, we want to put up points and not put so much pressure on our defense at the end of games. We want to put that pressure on us and win some games instead of the defense bailing us out."